Walt Disney World Marathon - RunMarathon


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Orlando, Florida
United States
Disney
30F / -1C
Sunny
Total Time = 6h 08m 39s
Overall Rank = 13422/16883
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Rest, Pizza, prepare everything the night before and to bed early. Morning wake up call at 3AM, layered up for 30 degree temps and headed to race retreat tent. Later realized I forgot my handteen that has been my crutch for all events. Didn't sweat it because I already decided that I would not allow myself to be competitive for time, PRs, etc. Just wanted to have fun.
Event warmup:

The trek from Disney resort to race start is the warm up in itself. Walk to the bus transportation, walk to the event area and another walk to the starting line. My husband and I did the race retreat this year so we were able to stay out of the chilly wind pre-race. We waited until approx 15 minutes before the start, walked straight to corral and was able to start running immeidately which was good since my toes had already gone numb in the time it took to get from the tent to the start line.
Run
  • 6h 08m 39s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 14m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

I did Chicago in October and had slacked off on training so I had no expectations other than finishing and knew up front that it would be tough. My husband (who did Goofy for 5th year) and I decided to run together (his pace is faster than me in general). We got to the start just in time to start running before the next wave. We didn't have to battle for any placement so we were able to start off easy & slow. We kept this going through the first half. At mile four I felt great. By mile 13 I started to feel the burn that you would typically feel around 18 to 20 (if you actually trained). I pushed on to 15 before I allowed myself to give in to a run/walk method. By mile 17 I was walking most of the ramps and pushing myself to run as much as possible but it became in much shorter spurts. By mile 21 I was encouraged that I only had 5.2 miles left. From there I could only work the mileage down in my head of 5 miles, then 4, 3, 2, 1 until finally... Finished. The last two miles were very challenging to keep going. My husband kept me pushing forward and we were able to cross the finish line together hand in hand.

It was a great experience to run with him. People say 'Not many people say that they can run a marathon'. To add to that, not many couples can say that they ran a marathon together. The only downside to running together was probably too many potty breaks. Typically I'm able to bypass this all together but for this event between the two of us we lost over 30 minutes running time. But again, in reflection there were no time goals. The only goal was to finish togheter.
What would you do differently?:

Train
Post race
Warm down:

Immediately went to the race retreat and fueled up. The race retreat food was the best start to my recovery. Did some stretching in the tent but finished with some nice long stretches back in the room. Finished off with a recovery drink. Then we went to Downtown Disney to keep moving. Most important thing was to just keep moving and eating.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Lack of training and too many potty breaks but again, there was no concern with time.

Event comments:

This is definitely a Do Again event. Great tech shirts and medals of which you get to wear proudly at the parks the next few days. This also was the first time I went without my crutch of a water bottle but I didn't miss it at all due to good number of water stops. This is the first event where I've ever been able to receive two full size bananas, raisens and chocolate along the course. This was a pleasant surprise especially since I forgot to bring my hammer gels and had to use powergels (of which are not easy on my stomach so I had to cut back on intake). So now the question is... should I try Goofy next year? Maybe.




Last updated: 2010-01-15 12:00 AM
Running
06:08:39 | 26.2 miles | 14m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/16883
Performance: Good
Course: I've done the Disney half for the past three years so I already knew what to expect. Flat roadways between parks, some slanted ramps and a few hills but nothing drastic. There are dead spots but I don't mind this because it allows for me to get into a zone. Then when you hit the crowds it gives you a good pumped up feeling. What I didn't expect was slippery ice through the water stops but at least they were throwing sand onto the roadway and warning all runners as you came through.
Keeping cool Average Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4